Follies Movie and Merrily Revival

BroadwayWorld.com recently held an online chat at with Stephen Sondheim in conjunction with the current Roundabout Theater production of Sunday in the Park With George. During the chat, both Sondheim and Todd Haimes, the Roundabout's artistic director, hinted at some intriguing upcoming projects.

First, Haimes confirmed that Roundabout is planning a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along as part of its 2009-2010 season. The show is slated to be directed by longtime Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, and not the show's original director Harold Prince. Also, Sondheim himself revealed plans afoot to film a movie version of Follies, with what he described as "a major star" and "a major director," although he wouldn't yet reveal who they are.

Sondheim seems to have reached the point in his career where, rather than forging new works, he's cultivating new versions of shows from his considerable catalog. As excited as I am about the prospect of both a Merrily revival and a Follies movie, I'd be much more excited if he was, to borrow a line from Dot in Sunday, working on something new. In the chat, he confirmed that at one point he was considering a musical version of the Bill Murray film "Groundhog Day," but he eventually dropped that idea because, and I paraphrase, the movie is already perfect the way it is and to musicalize it would be gilding the lily. (Hmm...)

But anyway, back to the stuff that actually is in the works. Merrily is arguably the most beloved flop of all time, and certainly Sondheim's. This is probably the only way the show would ever make it back to Broadway: in a limited run under the auspices of a non-profit. I list it on my page of fascinating failures: although it has a marvelous score, I've never seen the show work, in any incarnation. I will be very interested to see if Lapine can bring out the heart of this cold but admirable work.

Because the problem with the show is not that the plot goes backwards in time; it's that we don't care enough about these people. The changes that Sondheim and company have made over the years have made the show different, not better. The added and rearranged songs, if anything, make the show more cynical and heartless. Here's hoping they go back to something a little closer to the original, at least in terms of the score.

As for the Follies movie, although I'm excited personally, I can't imagine that such a property would have any real commercial value. It's an art-house film at best. A friend of mine speculated that the "major star" might could be Barbra Streisand. "They're inseparable," he says. That would certainly lift the movie above art-house status. (Would Babs play Phyllis or Sally? My bet would be Phyllis.)

Care to speculate, dear reader, as to who that major star and major director might be?

Comments

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Chris, I'm surprised you hadn't had a chance to see "Merrily We Roll Along" before - I guess I've just taken it for granted that you've seen them all, given your breathtaking array of musical knowledge.

About 9 years ago, I lucked out and saw a version of the show at the Guthrie and really liked it, especially as the story unfolded backwards. Once you've had a chance to see it, I'll be eager to learn what you think about it.

[chris caggiano]

Steve, I've seen the show numerous times. But I've never seen the show WORK. Perhaps my syntax made this difficult to divine. I've seen productions that have used both the original and revised scripts, and didn't think either version produced a satisfying result.

But I get the feeling that if anyone can find a way to make the show work, it will be Lapine. Think of how Sondheim's shows changed in character when he broke up with Prince and took up with Lapine. The shows became more lyrical, less cynical, more emotional, and less clever for clever's sake. Yes, I eagerly look forward to seeing what Lapine can do with this flawed but worthy piece.

[SarahB]

Thinking of Babs in Follies makes my head hurt.

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Ooops! My mistake. I feel a bit like Emily Letella.

Never mind.

I'll still look forward to hearing what you think of the Broadway incarnation.

[Scot Colford]

Well... IMHO, the problem with Merrily isn't that it's told backward nor that it's cynical. For me, I feel cheated out of the answer to the question "What was the moment?" that's sung repeatedly about where Frank lost his idealism. It happens between scenes and a little at a time. It's just not a very active story.

That said, it's one of my favorite scores in all of its incarnations.

[chris caggiano]

Yeah, Scot, there's definitely something missing in the show, and it's hard to put your finger on it. But I think it's safe to say that by the time the shows ends, you really get the sense that's there was a missed opportunity, both in terms of the characters and their lives and the show and its execution.

[pablo]

I think the casting of Follies is exciting and problematic at the same time.Two big fat musical diva roles yeah! I would like to see Michelle Pfeiffer doing Phylis. But Sally? Meryl Streep? Glenn Close? Maybe Catherine Z Jones?? No fammous movie actress seems perfectly suited for the role.

[Jason Modica]

It is rumored that Rob Marshall will direct with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.

[chris caggiano]

Huh. I guess I don't consider Marshall a "big-name" director, more of an obvious choice. When I think big-name, I think Scorsese or Coppola, not that either would be appropriate for this project.

And speaking of inappropriate, Sorkin? What in his body if work would point to something like Follies?

[Michael Shepley]

I'm jumping into this "Merrily/Follies" stuff a bit late, but here goes. Has anyone every read the original Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman play, "Merrily We Roll Along"? It doesn't work, either. Going backwards in time is a conceit that doesn't really play theatrically ... and the characters are ciphers. I saw the original Broadway production of "Merrily," and it was awful ... the set was some bleachers and the cast was outfitted in different colored sweatshirts with their character names on them. Great score, though! But don't we Broadway fans know that great scores do not make great shows? As for the "Follies" movie, I heard that it was Bill Condon, not Aaron Sorkin, who was interested in writing the screenplay. This makes more sense, doesn't it? The big question is this: When "Follies" was first presented in 1971, there were still links to the Ziegfeld Follies and the other revues of the era. Now, some 35 years later, there are no performers that go back that far. There was talk of a movie once, with Doris Day as Sally and Bette Davis doing "I'm Still Here" -- a Hollywood version of "Follies" with great movie stars playing the different parts of film actors. The problem today is, even if you set the action in 1971, the musical numbers conjured up don't have relevance to the world anymore. (It pains me to say this, as I saw the original "Follies" 12 times.) I thought of this when I watched the current production of "Gypsy," as the young people in the audience (1) didn't know what vaudeville was, and (2) didn't know what striptease was. God, it's weird to get old! Young people don't know anything about what went before, and we don't really understand what young people are doing. There's a divide. But that's another subject. [For more complaints about today, visit my blog, www.oldgrouchdailyrant.blogspot.com -- it's not daily, but its grouchy.)

[stanley schweiger]

I would be the first person in line to purchase tickets to the movie version of "Follies." There is just no way that this movie will be made. There's no viable market out there. I could envision an "American Masters" presentation on PBS, but other than that, sad to say, FORGET IT! I would love to be proven wrong on this.

[Gary Jaffe]

Um, Streisand is about 20 years too old to play one of the leads in FOLLIES. Those characters are 50 years old. The entire emotional core of the writing is about these people in their 50's looking back at their lives with regret. Watching someone do that at 70 is a very different story.

[Mike N]

You're right. She's too old, and besides, she'd probably want to direct it as well.("A major star and a major director..."). Follies is an ensemble piece. Streisand would ruin it.